Breakdown of Timp de o lună după fractură, nu puteam să folosesc deloc piciorul stâng.
o
a / an (f)
nu
no / not
putea
can / to be able to
luna
the month
să
to (subjunctive marker)
folosi
to use
piciorul
the leg
stâng
left
după
after
deloc
at all
timp de
for (a period of time)
fractura
the fracture
Questions & Answers about Timp de o lună după fractură, nu puteam să folosesc deloc piciorul stâng.
Why use the Imperfect nu puteam să folosesc instead of the Perfect Compus nu am putut să folosesc?
Even though there is a specific timeframe (timp de o lună), this sentence describes a continuous state of inability over that whole period. You would use nu am putut să if you were talking about a specific, single attempt that failed, like trying to stand up once and failing.
What does timp de mean, and why shouldn't I just say pentru o lună?
Timp de translates to 'for a duration of' and is the standard way to express how long an action or state lasts. While English speakers naturally want to use pentru (for), Romanian reserves pentru mostly for purpose or destination. For periods of time, use timp de.
Why is deloc placed right after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?
Adverbs like deloc (at all) usually sit immediately after the verb they modify to make the negation sound strong and natural. Here, it directly modifies folosesc, so it goes right after it, before the direct object (piciorul stâng).
In piciorul stâng, why is the definite article only attached to the word picior?
In standard Romanian word order, the adjective comes after the noun. When this happens, only the noun gets the definite article (-ul in piciorul). The adjective stâng (left) simply agrees in gender and number with the neuter singular noun, but doesn't take an article itself.
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